Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 37: Mamushi



Though Bruno was not consciously aware of it as his thoughts were currently towards more pressing matters. The investments he had made upon receiving compensation from his family for his designs that thoroughly paid off, and it had only been a handful of years since then.

Taking advantage of his knowledge from his past life, Bruno reached out to several key historical figures who would be making a major name for themselves in the coming years. For example, the Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford and twelve other investors who created the company with a mere 28,000 US dollars.

Granted at the time that was a lot of money. But to Bruno who gained millions from his designs. He was able to reach out to Henry Ford and fulfill the role of those 12 investors in exchange for 50% of the company.

In his past life, Henry Ford only possessed 25.5% of the company due to the amount of investors he had. But in this life he split the company 50/50 with Bruno who was his only investor. Aside from that, Bruno had also invested in the likes of Coca Cola and Pepsi both of which were founded in the 1890s, but had yet to really reach the peak of their gains.

In addition to this, Bruno also invested in the likes of Firestone Tire and Rubber, Quaker Oats, J.C. Penney, and Texaco all of which were major brands in the 21st century. He also had plans to invest in other major companies that would be found over the course of the coming decades such as Harley Davidson, General Motors, and a number of aerospace companies.

To put it simply, Bruno had set himself up for guaranteed financial success, building a fortune that could go on to support his family for the coming century. But of course, Bruno had no time to pay attention to such matters at the moment.

After all, he was currently in the middle of a Warzone. And because of this, he was invited by the surviving soldiers who he had led into battle the previous day to join them for a meal in the evening after he had managed to wash away the mud and blood which coated his figure and uniform.

Though he was a foreign general, who had initially been sent to Manchuria to act in an advisory capacity to the Imperial Japanese Army, as far as the individual soldiers of the Third Army were concerned, Bruno was one of them. Because of this, they held cups of sake up in the air and toasted Bruno for his great victory.

"To the Great Mamushi, whose swift and lethal attack at 203 Meter Hill achieved a complete and total victory for the Empire of Japan here at Port Arthur! Kanpai!"

Bruno was confused at first. Because of this, he leaned over and whispered to one of the nearby officers, inquiring just who the Colonel was referencing when he made the toast.

"Mamushi? Who is that?"

The officer chuckled and shook his head, drinking from his cup as he responded to Bruno's question with a smile on his face.

"That's what the soldiers are calling you. Mamushi, it's the name of a venomous serpent from Japan. Your assault on the Russians was so sudden and destructive that they didn't even have the time to properly form a defense. They were dead before they even knew what hit them. Much like what would happen if one were attacked by a Mamushi."

The Germans called Bruno the Wolf of Prussia because he had ruthlessly sniffed out and ravaged the Boxer Remnants who were hiding in Northern China's countryside. While the Japanese called him Mamushi in reference to a venomous pit viper native to the Japanese homeland.

This was after Bruno had launched a sudden and devastating strike on the Russians before they could properly respond, seizing 203 Meter Hill and ending the Siege of Port Arthur in a single day. A siege that had lasted a month so far, and would have lasted significantly longer without Bruno's actions.

Bruno was starting to realize that he was picking up nicknames wherever he was deployed. Which was a testament to his own capabilities in the field. Something that could only cause him to smirk as he drank the Sake in his cup.

It was while he was reflecting on this that the colonel who had made the toast walked over to Bruno and saluted the man before speaking to him as if he were his own general.

"Sir, without you, victory would not have been achieved here in Port Arthur. And I have heard that our orders are to pack up tomorrow morning and begin marching to Mukden. I have the feeling that this war is coming to an end much sooner than it should. And I have you to thank for that, and the lives of my men, who no doubt would have suffered far more should this conflict were to continue waging on for another year."

Bruno returned the Japanese Colonel's salute. The man was much older than he was, and was no doubt a veteran of several wars. And because of this, Bruno treated the man with respect, almost as if he were a superior officer to himself.

"With all due respect, Colonel, your men would have achieved victory by the year's end without my interference here. Even so, it would not be boastful of me to say that I sped things up by insisting on seizing 203 Meter Hill rather than continue with the failed offensive at 174 Meter Hill.

And you are correct, tomorrow we will begin marching to Mukden. The plan is to encircle the Russian Army there and eliminate them in a single decisive battle. Once that has happened, the Russian Tsar will be forced to sue for peace.

When word reaches the Russian people that they lost nearly 300,000 men in a single battle, he will have his hands full with revolutionary sentiment. And because of that, he will not be able to continue the fight for Manchuria and Korea.

However, the result of the Battle at Mukden will rely upon the performance of you and your men. I fear I won't be in charge this time around, as your generals seem almost anxious to prove themselves after the victory here at Port Arthur."

The colonel, perhaps gaining a loose tongue after becoming slightly inebriated was quick to voice his thoughts on the Japanese Generals who shamelessly left command of the Third Army

to a foreigner.

"Those fools will be lucky if the Emperor doesn't call for their heads upon returning to Japan. Such a shameful display. Trying to pin their failures on you, an allied general, because they had the lack of foresight to see that your strategy would succeed.

If I had the ability, I would personally send a letter to the Emperor requesting for their immediate removal from command. Nevertheless, it is not my place to do so. Even then, that did not prevent me from leaking news of what happened here to the Chief of Staff, and the Emperor himself."

Bruno was surprised to hear that the Colonel had already acted to secure the truth of what happened at Port Arthur. After all, this meant that the shameful Japanese Generals could not try to take credit for Bruno's victory.

And because of this, he was quick to thank the Japanese Colonel for his efforts.

"You have my thanks."

With this said, Bruno shared a drink with the Japanese Colonel, before ending the festivities for the night where he returned to the tent he had been given as his personal quarters for the duration of the command. He fell asleep thinking about home, and how he would spend time with his family when he was finally able to return.

Bruno was awoken the following day, earlier than was necessary. There was a Japanese soldier of a low rank, standing outside his tent, who addressed him with the utmost respect as he made a shocking decree.

"Generalmajor Bruno von Zehntner, there is a letter here for you from the Emperor himself. I have orders to hand it over to your hands personally, and only your hands. Would you please

permit me entry?"

Bruno climbed out of bed, barely managing to get himself dressed accordingly, before opening the tap of his tent where he saw a young Japanese soldier handing him a letter which indeed bore the seal of the Japanese Royal Family.

He then thanked the soldier for delivering the letter, before dismissing him entirely. Once Bruno was back inside the comfort of his tent, he opened the letter and read its contents, which were indeed shocking.

Rather than move with in its advance to Mukden. Bruno was being personally summoned to the Japanese mainland to meet with the Japanese Emperor himself. And if the letter was to be believed, he would be heavily rewarded for his victory at Port Arthur.

Because of this, Bruno quickly finished getting himself presentable before wandering through the camp where he met up with Heinrich and Erich. When he handed them the letter, they were shocked, remaining silent for some time until eventually Erich voiced his thoughts

on the matter.

"Wait a second, what does this mean for us if you're separating from the Army?"

Bruno had a stern expression on his face and shook his head as he explained exactly what the

intentions were.

"This means the two of you are to stay here with the Army, and act as advisors to the Japanese Generals on my behalf. Not to worry, I have left ample notes on the strategies, tactics, and logistical networks I have devised to properly win the battle of Mukden with as few casualties

as possible.

It will be your jobs to convince those old fools to follow my notes, rather than act rashly in a vain pursuit of glory. So... Good luck with that. As for me, I'm headed off to Japan to speak with the Japanese Emperor and receive some kind of reward for my efforts. I hope that I will be able to see you at Mukden before the battle begins, but if not. Godspeed my friends..." Bruno would hand over a notebook full of his efforts these past few days that he had written down in his spare time. As promised, the book contained everything that was needed to achieve victory in the swiftest amount of time, and with the lowest amount of casualties.

After which, he said his farewells before departing on a ship which docked in Port Arthur. It would be a brief journey from Manchuria to Japan. Where the Japanese Emperor and his Royal Family were awaiting him.